Brigadier General Reinhard Kloss, assistant chief of staff, J9 division, Allied Joint Force Command Naples attended the inauguration ceremony of the African Standby Force (ASF) Continental Logistics Base Jan. 5, 2018, in Douala, Cameroon. (Courtesy photo)
DOUALA, Cameroon --
Brigadier General Reinhard Kloss, assistant chief of staff, J9 division, Allied Joint Force Command Naples attended the inauguration ceremony of the African Standby Force (ASF) Continental Logistics Base Jan. 5, 2018, in Douala, Cameroon.
The ceremony was presided over by Prime Minister Philemon Yang, on behalf of President Paul Biya, of Cameroon. Yang indicated that the Continental Logistics Base ensures adequate infrastructure for a rapid deployment of African troops, thus conferring the African Union more autonomy in the conduct of its humanitarian and peacekeeping operations and supporting the security on the African Continent.
The site was given to the AU by the Cameroonian authorities for deployment of the ASF. It consists of structures located near the Douala Air Base base which ceded 10 hectares of the national military facility.
The facilities include 32 administrative offices, a meeting room, a squadron building, a consortium of operational means and other military equipment and materials.
Advanced technology facilities aim to allow the AU to be less dependent on the United Nations and other international organizations in its humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.
In 2015, the Cameroonian government and the AU signed a Memorandum of Understanding ,which, among others, provided for land and state facilities for creation of the ASF logistics base.
Story by JFC Naples J9 division